The New Jersey Devils have been rolling offensively. All four lines have looked good at times, and the play of Jesper Bratt is remarkable. The Devils’ offense has been nearly unstoppable, and the goaltending is still a problem. We are learning a lot in the first seven games of the season. One thing that seems pretty clear is Dawson Mercer isn’t going to face a sophomore slump.
In seven games, Mercer already has three goals. When it comes to chances, Mercer isn’t one of the best on the team. Only Alex Holtz and Brendan Smith have a worse Corsi-For Percentage. However, Mercer has one of the best high-danger chance percentages on the team. His 75% is tied with Jack Hughes. Mercer has been on the ice for 21 high-danger chances, while the other team has only had 7 when he’s been on the ice.
Mercer has eight individual high-danger chances. That is equal to Nico Hischier, Tomas Tatar, and Erik Haula, who all only trail Yegor Sharangovich and Hughes for tops on the team. Hughes actually leads the NHL with 16. (All stats are courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.)
Mercer has been creating his own chances, and he’s been doing it at a very high rate. It’s not like this is unsustainable. Mercer has been with Jack Hughes for about 56 minutes this season at 5v5. He’s been on the ice for 32 minutes without Hughes. Together on the ice, Mercer and Hughes scored four high-danger goals while giving up zero high-danger goals against. Somehow, they still saw four goals against them, but the goalies should have stopped all of them.
The Devils need to find the right spot for Mercer, and he’s been moving around over the last few games. Against the Detroit Red Wings, Mercer was playing center in between Alex Holtz and Yegor Sharangovich. Mercer only got 11 minutes of ice time at even strength, but he scored a goal, took five shots, and got himself an individual high-danger chance. Only Sharangovich had less ice time than he did, which also seems preposterous.
We’ll blame the back-to-back for the strange ice time. Clearly, Lindy Ruff is not happy with Holtz’s play, and Mercer got the brunt of that.
Mercer is going to be good no matter who he’s with. His endless motor and hockey IQ will make it impossible for him to face a sophomore slump. Mercer is going to fit in whatever box Ruff needs him to fill. He should spend a lot of time with Hughes. However, whoever ends up playing with Mercer will see their numbers jump. Mercer has been finishing so far, and it’s good to see one member of the Devils finishing with consistency.